Thermal door-closing device.



PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1903."

I. M. BDMONDS. THERMAL DOOR CLOSING DEVICE.

APPLICATION PIIED'MAR. 27, 1903.

HO. wasum Patented September 8, T903.

U ITEDSTAT Es PATENT Farce.

FRANK M- EDMONDS, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE COBURN TROLLEY TRACK MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF I-IOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION.

THERMAL oooR-oLosme DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 738,714, dated September 8, 1903.

v L Application filed March 27, 1903. Serial No. M9313. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- ter in present use is shown in the United Be it known that'I, FRANK M. EDMONDS, a; States Letters Patent to Besse, No. 682,164, citizen of the United States of America, resid- September 10, 1901. The construction thereing at I-Iolyoke, in the county of Hampden in shown,however,isimperfect,in thatitdoes and State of Massachusetts, have invented not provide for the free running of the doornew and useful Improvements in Thermal restraining cord after the rupture of the fusi- Door-Closing Devices, of which the following ble connection, and a further disadvantage isa specification. 1 consists in the fact that a part of the fusible This invention relates to improvements in strip may remain attached to the cord and 10 the construction of self-closing doors, and repossibly become entangled therewithin such lates especially to devices applicable to the a manner as to prevent the proper closing of fire-doors held in an open position by means the door at the critical moment. My invenof devices associated with a piece of fusible tion overcomes these various defects and is metal which when ruptured permits the decarried into practice as follows:

[5 vices to operate to close the door, the object Projecting beyond the forward edge of the of this invention being to simplify the condoor in a way to bring it well in front-of the struction of the devices whereby the door is door-opening in the wall is a fixed arm (1, on held open and whereby the same devices are which is pivoted another arm a. The arm at rendered eifective to close the door when the is horizontal, while the arm e is slightly in- 20 fusible metal is ruptured. clined from the vertical toward the end of In the drawings forming part of this applt the arm (1-, and between said arm 6 and the cation, Figure 1 shows a portion of a door end of the arm cl there is located a strip [mounted upon an inclined track and having f of fusible metal, secured in any suitable applied to it the devices which form the subway to each of said arms to hold them in fixed 25 ject-matter of this application. Fig. 2 is an relation one to the other, so that the arm 6 enlarged view, in side elevation, of the demay constitute a forwardly-inclined hook vices in the position they occupy when the to receive the cord. Preferably a notch 9 door is held open prior to the rupture of the is made in the forward edge of the arm fusible member. Fig. 3 is a similar view 6, near the upper end thereof, to receive the 30 showing the position of the parts after the cord h, one end of which is fastened to the rupture of the fusible element. door at 11 and, passing around the end of the Referring to the drawings, a may indicate arm e in the notch g, runs back over a sheave a Wall having a door-opening therein over or pulleyj on the wall a and from thence which and extending to one side of which downward, a weight being suspended on its 35 opening is mounted an inclined track 22, of lower end. The preferred manneris to carry 'anysuitable type, on which the door 0 may be the end of the cord h downward in a loop, as supported on rollers, as shown in Fig. 1 of the shown in Fig. 1, the weight 70 being provided drawings, to the end that when not held in with a pulley, through which the looppasses, restraint the door may slide down the track as shown. Properly supported on the wall 40 b and close the opening in the wall. over the door is a bracket-arm m, which ex- 0 Various devices have heretofore been used tends down alongside of thecord It just back whereby the door may be held open by means of that part thereof which passes around the of aweight, and associated with these devices arm 6 and where, owi ng to the location of the t a fusible strip of metal has been used, upon supports of the cord, the latter doubles back 5 the rupture of which the devices assume a upon itself in a vertical plane, which permits different position, and the same weight serves the location of a grooved pulley 0 on the arm to close the door or to accelerate the closing min such position that when the arm 6 swings movements thereof, which with these devices backward and releases the cord 72. the latter in another position holds the door open. A will fall onto the grooved pulley o. 3 50 good example of constructions of this charac- When the parts are in the position shown IOO in Figs. 1 and 2, the cord it, making, as it does, a short turn around the end of the arm e, is prevented from slipping thereon, and consequently the effectof the weight 76 is to hold the door open; but as soon as the arm 6 is released and free to swing backward by the rupture of the fusible strip f, as shown in Fig. 3, the cord it will pass around the easily -rotatable pulley 0, whereupon, free movement being permitted to the cord, the effect of the weight k is transmitted to the lower portion of the cord, which is secured at the pointi near the rear edge of the door. The weight therefore will operate to accelerate the closing movement of the door.

From the foregoing description it is seen that the fusiblestrip f cannot in any way when ruptured be caught up by the cord and interfere with the freedom of movement of the latter and that aside from this the cord has a perfectly-unobstructed straight run, not being doubled on itself or crossed at any point, and therefore the chances of fouling, whereby the door might at a critical time be prevented from closing properly, are entirely avoided.

Having thus'described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat-.

ent of the United States, is-

1. The combination with a sliding door and an inclined track on which the door is monnted, of a swinging arm supported on the door beyond the forward edge of the latter, and a strip of easily-fusible metal to retain said arm in a rigid position, a cord looped over the end of said arm, a weight on the cord to hold the door open, one end of the cord being secured to the door near the rear edge thereof a pulley not supported on the door, and located near said swinging arm, adapted to receive the cord when the fusible strip is ruptured, and thereby reverse the action of the cord and weight, to efie'ct the closing of the door.

2. The combination with a sliding door and an inclined track on which the door is supported, of a weight, a cord attached thereto by one end and having its other end attached to the door; suitably-supported pulleys over which the cordv runs to eifect the closing of the door by the weight; a swinging arm located near one of the pulleys and constituting a hook for the cord whereby, when the cord engages said arm, the action of the weight may be reversed to hold the door open, and a strip of fusible metal secured to said arm and to a fixed abutment, to normally hold the arm rigid.

FRANK M. EDMON'DS.

Witnesses: K. I. CLEMoNs, W H. GHAPIN. 

